While a handful of MCU movies have been dated for the unknown - but likely "Mutant" - Saga set to follow Avengers: Secret Wars, there's been no word on exactly when we'll see Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot in theaters.
Michael Lesslie (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) is said to be penning the screenplay, but beyond that, updates have been few and far between. Unsurprisingly, social media scoopers have already begun dropping hints about who could play the MCU's mutants.
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has been named as a contender for Jean Grey, while Wicked star Cynthia Erivo and Jurassic World Dominion's DeWanda Wise are among those suggested for Storm. We say "suggested" because it seems highly unlikely Marvel Studios will cast actors in their late 30s or early 40s to play the MCU's X-Men.
Regardless, insider @MyTimeToShineH is today reporting that The Bear star Ayo Edebiri is being eyed for the role of Ororo Munroe. The actor, also known for Abbott Elementary and Inside Out 2, was previously cast in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* as Erin, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's assistant.
Scheduling issues meant both she and Steven Yeun were forced to drop out of the movie, meaning Marvel Studios might now see Edebiri as a better fit for one of the X-Men's most powerful mutants.
Edebiri is 29 and is the sort of rising star it's easy to imagine Marvel Studios filling the team's roster with. This is just a rumour for now, of course, and likely isn't the last name we'll see linked to Storm over the next few years.
Addressing plans to bring the X-Men into the MCU last year, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said, "I think you will see that continues in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize. Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men."
"Again, [it’s] one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back." So, as expected, it appears the "Mutant Saga" is very nearly upon us as we rocket to the end of the ongoing Multiverse Saga.
Marvel Studios has been sitting on the rights to the X-Men for the better part of six years, but after disasters like Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, putting the characters on ice for a while was a must (and, the meantime, access to Earth-10005 has proved an easy way to add those characters to the Multiverse Saga).
Only time will tell what's planned for the MCU's mutants but following the success of Marvel Animation's X-Men '97, it's been widely reported that the live-action team will take its cues from that roster.
In other MCU news, the same scooper mentioned above is claiming that filmmaker Sam Raimi will not return for Doctor Strange 3. This does somewhat line up with comments shared by Benedict Cumberbatch yesterday, so stay tuned for more on that as we have it.